A man and woman have appeared in court charged with forcibly triggering a miscarriage and disposing of the baby’s body.
Sophie Harvey, 23, of St Mary’s Road, Cirencester, and Elliot Benham, 23, of Wingfield, Swindon, spoke only to confirm their name, age and date of birth in the dock at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court today (05/01).
The defendants arrived for the hearing together – and used umbrellas to hide from view.
They face joint charges of procuring poison to cause a miscarriage, concealment of the birth of a child and committing an act with intent to pervert the course of public justice – namely by disposing of the baby’s body.
Harvey is also charged with procuring her own miscarriage by poison/use of an instrument.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 1 September 2018 and 1 December 2018.
Prosecutor Sue Gethin told the court that three of the four charges are indictable only – meaning they can only be heard in a crown court.
Details about the case were not revealed in open court, but the charges name mifepristone and misoprostol as the drugs that were allegedly used to cause the miscarriage.
The co-defendants indicated pleas of not guilty, with their solicitor Paul Gilmartin stating the pair dispute the facts of the case provided by the Crown.
District Judge Nicholas Wattam sent the case to Glocuster Crown Court. The pair will next appear for a case management hearing on 3 February.
They were released on bail with the condition not to have direct or indirect contact with any children under the age of five.
The ‘Offences Against the Person Act 1861′ states it is a criminal offence to try to cause your own abortion.
It is alleged in this case that the pregnancy was past 24 weeks and was not carried out by a registered medical practitioner.
In England, abortions are legal up to 24 weeks’ gestation if carried out by a registered medical practitioner, and can be carried out after 24 weeks in very limited circumstances.
